New G2 Online Gaming Network Eyes California Market

June 12, 2009 (CAP Newswire) — When GTech created its new online gaming brand G2, the company apparently was thinking ahead to the U.S. market. Specifically, GTech has tackled the potential problem that U.S. authorities may hold the new brand responsible for the actions of GTech’s other subsidiary, Boss Media, whose policy of accepting U.S. players could potentially be a legal liability if the UIGEA remains in place.

“We are confident that GTech will successfully meet any licensing requirements that may be required in any jurisdiction around the globe,” G2 president Atul Bali recently told eGaming Review magazine (EGR).

So why does G2 need to be concerned about California? In the EGR article, the president of the Poker Voters of America advocacy group, Jim Tabilio, said that the current bill seeking to legalize online poker in California is designed to “award the software contract to a single operator, and that the model they were examining was the California lottery run by G2 parent company GTech.”

That’s a potentially huge competitive advantage, and so GTech wants to be sure that its prior activities won’t jeopardize its future plans. The company is confident that there won’t be any problems of that nature. “Having served the California lottery for 16 years, we have a large presence in the state and work with the most geographically diverse regulated gaming business in the state. We also have a proven track record in working with government in all forms of gaming, including poker,” explained Bali in the article.